Painting Collectible Miniatures: A Beginners Guide

I have been collecting miniature figures for many years now, and I have found it to be a very exciting hobby. I have also been collecting and painting miniatures professionally, for sale in a variety of areas, and I written many published articles on this fun topic. You can collect a group of figures and play a game with them, on your counter, on your tabletop, or at a hobby store with other people who also enjoy playing this particular board game with miniature figures. It is really fun to buy a prepainted model, and then add your own custom touch to this wargame miniature figure. Some games like the popular click based games made by WizKids, such as MechWarrior and the upcoming Halo miniatures game have some really nice miniatures, but they could do with a more detailed paint job. A little touch of details here and there really helps bring out more in a miniature model, be it a robot, Roman soldier, alien, US Marine, British Redcoat, or Superhero. After all, it is little bits of attention to detail that really help a collection and army of miniature figures stand out from the average army of models. If you would like to add some details, or just a personal touch with painting to your miniature models, then grab your modeling and hobby gear, and let's go!

Generally, if you want to totally repaint a miniature, I would recommend painting it with black first. You can buy a cheap can of black spray paint, and cover the figure really quickly, which helps if you are painting multiple figures for a big table top miniature army. Spray 'em, and let 'em dry, and then get to work on them with a detailed paintbrush. I would recommend putting the basic colors down first, allowing the black to show through to represent shadows in areas where one would expect that sort of thing, and then adding highlights and more color to raised areas and other parts. Dry brushing is a popular technique that will really help add a more raised, 3D look to your miniature figures. Make sure you use an older paintbrush for this, or you might ruin some of your good, detailed new paintbrushes. Little details like blood stains, bullet holes, and scratched up armor really add to the miniature figure, be it a Warhammer 28mm miniature or a HeroClick collectible model.

Buy some gravel bits, (or crush a rock with a hammer to get your own, being careful to wear proper eye protection), buy some flock (ground up saw dust painted to look like grass) and some 'fluff' for ground cover, and add it, with some glue to make it stick, to the base of the miniature. This will make the figure look much more '3D' and 'realistic', like it is really on a real battlefield, and not just some blank plastic stand that screams 'toy!' Also, trying adding some pieces of ruined building or whatnot on the ground as well, especially if your figures are supposed to be in an urban environment. Buy a little bit of modeling putty, and use it to further add to your figure!

Being creative with your miniature figures, the prepainted ones and the unpainted ones, is really a lot of fun. Try painting them up, and adding more detail to them, and then tell me if you think they look better! I'm pretty sure I already know the answer-a resounding, "Yes!